Parliament babies on hitting 20
Babies born on the same day as the Scottish Parliament opened in 1999 joined the celebrations yesterday.
There were 163 babies born in Scotland on July 1, 1999, on the day the Parliament assumed its legal powers.
Among them was Sarah Duncan from Kirkcaldy, who is now at Dundee University and studying for a degree in politics and international relations.
She said the significance of her birthday had been largely forgotten by her family until a letter arrived inviting them to the 10th anniversary celebrations in 2009.
For that occasion, officials located 145 children, with 142 of them travelling from across Scotland, the rest of the UK, Canada, the USA and the Faroe Islands to the parliament.
Sarah said she was keen to participate in this year’s anniversary celebrations – particularly as she is a politics student.
She said the Scottish Parliament was a “fantastic thing”. “I don’t know what life is like without it, but there have been many changes since it came into existence,” she said.
“For example, children get free school meals until primary three, which is fantastic, and free prescriptions has also been a big thing for a lot of people.
“A lot of people complain about the NHS in England, but the NHS in Scotland is not like that in comparison, with waiting times that are a lot shorter.”
She added: “I am not sure what I will be doing in terms of my career – but if I did end up working at the Scottish Parliament one day that would be fantastic.”